Advocates: Animal abuse and neglect cases on rise

A Husky shot between the eyes in Stafford. Two severely injured pit bulls at the side of a Hartford road — one with its ears torn off. An emaciated pit bull found dead in Coventry.

The cases of animal abuse and neglect in Connecticut this year appear to be more common, and more extreme, than in the past.

“I couldn’t tell you why, but it is happening,” said Police Capt. Robert Burroughs of Stratford, where a malnourished dog with ear infections, missing teeth and matted fur was found last month. “I have no idea why.”

“It has been an issue that’s been upticking,” he said.

As of Thursday, there were 33 new cases of animal abuse and neglect in the state this year, according to Zilla Cannamela, co-founder and president of Desmond’s Army Animal Law Advocates, a group of animal rights activists.

That compares to 28 new cases during a longer stretch of time last year, from Jan. 1 to May 27, she said.

“Just in January, we’re getting like two cases a week,” Cannamela said. The abuse also “is becoming increasingly alarming in the level of violence,” she said.

Her organization offers rewards for the arrest and prosecution of animal abusers, such as $10,000 for the person or people responsible for the dead pit bull found at the side of the road in Coventry on March 2.

A veterinary technician found the female dog inside a garbage bag in an open, toppled bin near Route 6. She had holes on her chest that police initially thought came from buckshot, but a necropsy showed it was from smaller animals, like bugs or birds, after the dog had died, said the investigator, Coventry officer Michelle Kurkoff.

The pit bull also had sustained trauma and had given birth in the last year, Kurkoff said. In addition, the dog was malnourished: The only thing in her stomach was an inedible object, she said. Police continue to investigate her death and would welcome any information about what happened to her, Kurkoff said.

Cannamela thinks the recent violence against animals reflects what she said is a general societal trend in the same direction.

“I think that the level of violence — we’re seeing that across the board. It’s not just against animals. We’re seeing it across the country.

And animals are an easy target because they can’t say anything,” she said. “Anyone capable of doing it to animals, they’re capable of doing it to kids, to the elderly, to their partners.”

The recent violent acts against animals seem to stem from different circumstances.

The Stafford Husky, Zeus, survived being shot twice in the head near his home. He slipped out of the house on March 28 when someone opened a door to go to school, said Audrey Owens, the owner’s mother. Huskies like to run and Zeus is no exception, she said; he’s gotten out before.

“It was intentional for sure,” Owens said of the shooting, which left the dog with a traumatic brain injury.

As Zeus slowly recovers, state troopers continue to investigate the shooting. Owens started a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money for his burgeoning medical bills on behalf of her son, Nicholas DeNunzio, 18, a senior at Howell Cheney Technical High School in Manchester. The fund surpassed its $10,000 goal by $6,000; donations also are being made to the Stafford Veterinary Center.

The day after Zeus was shot, a volunteer with Dog Star Rescue found two severely injured pit bulls on the side of Albany Avenue in Hartford. One had its ears ripped off and was so badly injured it had to be euthanized, police said.

Hartford Lt. Aaron Boisvert said police are investigating the possibility the dogs were being used for dogfights.

As city police continue to investigate that case, Desmond’s Army is offering an $11,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Elease McConnell, an animal control officer in Manchester for 25 years and former president of the CT Municipal Animal Control Officers’ Association, has handled abuse cases ranging from a 2010 cockfighting operation to the recent arrest of an unlicensed woman who performed an illegal C-section on a dog. The surgery was done on a kitchen table that was not sterile while people smoked marijuana nearby, according to an arrest warrant; the dog became severely infected and was euthanized.

“In all the years that I have been doing this, I don’t remember animal cruelty being so prevalent,” McConnell said. “I feel like I have been seeing and hearing of a lot more animal control officers speak of cases.”

She said it’s possible that more people are educated about animal abuse and are reporting it.

“I don’t know if more people are deciding to — if you see something, say something — report it and it’s getting followed up on, or if more are actually happening,” McConnell said.

In fact, Connecticut recorded a steady decrease in the number of animal cruelty offenses in recent years. The number was 155 in 2021, 130 in 2022 and 116 in 2023, state records show.

McConnell said many neglect cases stem from the fact that some people who have pets are not able to care for them. Some have mental illness.

“I think there’s a big difference between the person who intentionally harms an animal and the person who can’t take care of themselves,” McConnell said.

That may be one reason why a vast majority of animal cruelty cases that make it to court get dropped.

Of all the cases that led to arrests from 2011-21, 80 percent were dropped, according to a report from the state Office of Legislative Research. Forty-three percent were nolled, or not prosecuted, and 37 percent were dismissed outright.

In 18 percent of the cases, though, the accused was found guilty, while only 2 percent ended with a notguilty finding, the report shows.

Besides groups like Desmond’s Army and animal control officers, abused and neglected animals sometimes have legal experts on their side. UConn Law School’s Animal Law Clinic has court-appointed advocates, law students, for abused animals.

The clinic has seen more requests for appointments as the courts become familiar with the clinic and with the state’s animal advocacy laws, said Jessica Rubin, a professor at the university and the clinic’s director.

McConnell said the advocates provide a voice for the animals by putting law students in court, where they speak up on their behalf.

The students make sure “the nitty-gritty details are not overlooked” by an overburdened prosecutor, and that the court is made aware of a suspected abuser who is a repeat offender.

“It enhances the goal we’re working toward. The goal is to reduce that recidivism,” McConnell said.

“It’s so beneficial to have that court-appointed liaison,” McConnell said. “It’s a tremendous help.”